Children in peril at Uckfield crossing

Children trying to use a so-called safe pedestrian crossing outside an Uckfield superstore are liable to be hit by cars which fail to stop, terrified families say.

According to parents and teachers, a child has been knocked down and there have been many near misses at the crossing on the public access road from Bell Lane into the Tesco car park. The crossing and the road are on Tesco’s land and therefore their responsibility.

Daniel Harris, chair of the Holy Cross Primary School Parents and Friends Association and whose wife is a teacher said: “A child has already been hit by a car and there have been literally dozens of very close shaves. I would say there is one a week.”

Daniel told the Express he is now filming cars that drive across the zebra crossing without looking at any of the pedestrians who are using it. He plans to hand the footage to police which he hopes will see offending drivers prosecuted.

Daniel and his wife from Forge Rise have two daughters aged seven and five who both attend Holy Cross School.

He feels the crossing is at a point where there is a lot of ‘visual noise’. He went on: “It’s just so busy. Drivers try to rush out into Bell Lane and either don’t see the crossing or don’t care. They ignore people approaching it in spite of traffic humps each side which make no difference. I’ve got together with other parents to go into Tesco and complain as the crossing is on their land but they pay no attention. The head teacher at the school has also expressed his worries.”

A Tesco spokesperson said: “Concerns about the crossing have been raised recently. Our number one priority is the safety of our staff and customers. These things cannot be solved overnight but rest assured we are looking into the matter.”